1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to the field of processing aloe plants and removing portions of said plant for processing same into compositions for topical and internal applications, and compositions of matter comprising said portions of aloe.
2. Description of the Prior Art, and Other Information
Approximately 325 species of Aloe are known, and most are indigenous to Africa. Aloe barbadensis is native to northern Africa, and was introduced into the island of Barbados about 1630. A variety of Aloe barbadensis (called Aloe chinensis Baker) was introduced by William Anderson into Curacao in 1817 from China. It was cultivated in Barbados for its laxative fraction until the middle of the nineteenth century, when the industry began to wane. Curacao aloe, which is often called Barbados aloe, comes from the Dutch islands of Aruba and Bonaire. The market for laxative aloe diminished as better and safer laxatives were developed.
The plant contains two separate juice materials. One is made from the clear cellular gel and the second, a yellow juice, is contained in the pericyclic cells of the vascular bundles located at the junction between the rind (cortex) and the internal fillet (FIGS. 1 and 2--1 is the clear cellular gel, 2 the yellow juice containing anthraquinones, 3 is the rind).
For centuries the yellow juice has been dried and used as a laxative. For example, in the Dutch islands of Aruba and Bonaire, leaves are cut in March and April, then placed cut end downward on a V-shaped trough which is inclined so that the latex can be fed into a cooking vessel. Varro E. Tyler, PHARMACOGNOSY at pp. 60-63 (Lea and Febiger, Philadelphia, 1981). The dried latex of the leaves of Aloe barbadensis Miller or other Aloes ranges in color from reddish-black to brownish-black to dark brown in color. The taste of each variety of dried latex is nauseating and bitter; also the odor is characteristic and disagreeable. It contains a number of anthraquinone glycosides; the principal one is called barbaloin (aloe-emodin anthrone C-10 glucoside). This dried latex, that has been sold for centuries as a laxative, is commonly called aloe or aloes. ##STR1##
The active laxative constituents vary quantitatively and qualitatively according to the species and environmental growing conditions. For example, Curacao aloe contains two and one half times as much aloe-emodin when compared to Cape Aloe, and Curacao aloe contains an appreciable amount of free chrysophanic acid not present in other types of aloe (Tyler, op. cit.). Many companies sell Aloe products that contain a large amount of the yellow sap even claiming them to be beneficial. Both juices become mixed together by the juice extraction process which is used by many producers.
The following species of Aloe have been used commercially for their yellow sap, which was dried and used as a laxative. Arthur Osol et al., THE UNITED STATES DISPENSATORY AND PHYSICIANS' PHARMACOLOGY, (J. B. Lippencott Co., Philadelphia, 1980) at pp. 42-43:
"1. Aloe perryi Baker.--The true Socotrine aloe is a perennial herb, growing abundantly on the island of Socotra especially in the limestone tracts, from the sea level to an altitude of 3,000 feet and also found in eastern Africa and in Arabia. It has a trunk one foot high which bears on its summit a dense rosette of pale green or reddish, succulent, lanceolate leaves with brown-tipped marginal spines.
"2. Aloe barbadensis Mill.--(A. vera "L"; A. vulgaris Lamarck).--This species, which is the source of Curacao aloe, has a very short, woody stem, and lanceolate embracing leaves, of glaucous green color, with hard, pale spines. It has bright yellow flowers arranged in a spicate inflorescence. A. barbadensis is a native of southeastern Europe, northern Africa, and Madagascar. It is cultivated in Italy, Sicily, Malta, and especially in the West Indies.
"3. Aloe ferox Miller, one of the three South African, tree-like species yielding Cape aloe, is one of the tallest species of the genius. [sic] It has a forked stem 5 to 15 feet long, 4 to 6 inches in diameter; furnished at the top with a dense rosette containing 30 to 50 lanceolate leaves 1.5 to 2 feet long, with prickles.
"4. Aloe africana Mill., an aborescent South African species, has a simple tall trunk which bears on its summit a few triangular-oblong, glaucous, green leaves with large, horny marginal teeth. It is a native of the Cape Colony.
"5. Aloe spicata Baker. (A. Eru. var. cornuta Berger) is a tall, branched aloe indigenous to tropical southern Africa. It possesses pale, glossy, fleshy leaves with white blotches and a panicle of campanulate yellow flowers."
The current status of the yellow sap portion of Aloe as a laxative is best summarized by the text of Goodman and Gilman, as follows:
"The yellow sap has not been subjected to controlled clinical comparison with the other anthraquinones but has the reputation of being the most irritating of these cathartics. It produces considerable griping and pelvic congestion, and excessive doses may cause nephritis. It is still described in the U.S.P., but only for pharmaceutical reasons. Both aloe and aloin, a mixture of active glycosides, should be abandoned."
Goodman and Gilman, Eds., THE PHARMACOLOGICAL BASIS OF THERAPEUTICS, at 984, (MacMillan Publishing Co., Inc. New York 1975.)
Aloe is a tropical or subtropical plant characterized by lance-shaped leaves with jagged edges and sharp points. For centuries, this plant has been considered to have, and has been used for its medicinal and therapeutic properties without any clear understanding or scientific analysis of the bases for such properties. Note U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,892,853 to Cobble and 4,178,372 to Coats, both of which teach a process for producing an alleged stabilized (i.e. bacteriologically stable) aloe juice by extracting the mucilage from the aloe leaves and adding a mild oxidant (H.sub.2 O.sub.2). No reference is made in these patents to removing yellow sap, or to adverse properties in aloe juice due to the presence of yellow sap. In fact, both U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,853 and No. 4,178,372 attribute adverse properties prior to processing to beta "and perhaps" alpha globulin proteins (col. 3, lines 41-43 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,892,853; col. 3, lines 42-47 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,178,372). Furthermore, attempts to produce various commercial products from extracts and derivatives of the aloe plant have met with varying degrees of success and failure.